NW Raleigh residents speak out against rock quarry expansion

A north Raleigh neighborhood is finding itself between a rock and a hard place. Residents are speaking out against a plan to expand a rock quarry close to their homes.

The quarry, which is owned by Martin Marietta, is located near Ebenezer Church and Westgate Roads in northwest Raleigh.

"People are very frustrated. They're upset," said homeowner Mary Archer.

There are major concerns from Mary Archer and a handful of others who gathered outside Raleigh's Martin Marietta headquarters after a representative delivered a presentation.

"This is the expansion that they want to push Westgate up to this portion here," said homeowner Tom Archer.

At issue is the company's proposal to rezone and expand about 19 acres. It would add new berms near Ebenezer Church and Westgate Roads for digging and blasting the rock quarry closer to the Wyngate Subdivision.

"This is shaking our homes presently," said Archer. "We have had cracks in our ceilings that had to be repaire - cracks in our walls. The pictures move."

Fears of increased seismic activity resemble those of neighbors near the Hanson-Crabtree Quarry in North Raleigh, Back in April, that company dropped the bid to rezone more than 100 acres due to the economy.

In this same economy, people who live in Wyngate believe an expansion will destroy their home values. They are values they say they never knew would hinge on a rock quarry.

"I know that when I bought my house I didn't have to sign a disclosure about dynamite," said Apicella. "I did about airport traffic."